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TIL The craze for collecting toy soldiers began with the French in the 18th century. When Napoleon Bonaparte planned his military campaigns, he used models made by Lucotte, a toy soldier maker, to show the positions of his armies. One day he handed a few of the figures over to his son to play with.

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l7onV TIL That episiotomies, the intentional incision of the perineum during childbirth, was once considered routine. In the late 1970's, it was done in more than 60% of vaginal births. The procedure was discouraged by leading OBGYN groups in the 2000's, but still sometimes occurs.
KZPw TIL Koko, the gorilla who scientists have been teaching sign language, is very interested in nipples and routinely asks the human researchers around her to show her their nipples
YpAxx TIL Disney composer Alan Menken came from a family of dentists and trained at medical school. He was a poor student, "wild hippie" and barely finished NYU. 8 Oscars, 10 Grammys, 7 Golden Globes later, Menken is now a star at NYU with a doctorate and scholarship in his name
w66E TIL Swedish millionaire Johan Eliasch, who purchased 400,000 acres of the Amazon Rainforest, was fined £137 million for cutting down 237,000 trees in the Rainforest.
dD5Vr TIL of William Henry Veno who emigrated from Scotland to America, then to England with a new name and a miracle cough mixture. Though he sold his successful business in his 50s due to fatal health concerns, he actually died almost a decade later from suicide. Also credited with inventing Germolene.